Former Governor State Bank to join Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Reza Baqir appointed as Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. His work will focus on improving global frameworks for resolving sovereign debt crises so countries can recover faster from debt distress.
He previously served as Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan from May 2019 to May 2022. He led Pakistan’s financial response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to rapid economic recovery while reducing public debt and preserving foreign exchange reserves in 2020-21.
During his tenure as Governor State Bank of Pakistan, he also launched a number of initiatives aimed at digitizing Pakistan’s financial sector to foster innovation and inclusiveness. These included
(i) a new digital banking initiative for Pakistanis abroad, which generated nearly $5 billion in foreign currency funding.
(ii) the relaxation of the foreign exchange regulatory framework in Pakistan, which triggered a wave of foreign investment in start-ups and fintech.
(iii) a new regulatory framework for licensing digital banks in Pakistan.
(iv) Pakistan’s first instant payment system, Raast.
(v) a dedicated policy – Building on Equality – to support women’s access to finance.
In June 2019, it will be worth mentioning that Reza successfully negotiated a new IMF program and completed 6 subsequent reviews which stabilized the economy. He spearheaded two major reforms during this period: the introduction of a flexible exchange rate regime, the first for Pakistan, and amendments to the central banking law to strengthen its independence. For the Central Bank of Pakistan, Reza spent 19 years at the International Monetary Fund and 2 years at the World Bank.
Former Governor State Bank to join Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Moreover, he also headed the IMF’s Egypt office in 2017-19 as the IMF’s Senior Resident Representative and oversaw the successful implementation of the then-largest IMF loan program in the Middle East. For four years he was head of the IMF’s Debt Policy Department, which oversees the IMF’s work on sustainability and sovereign debt restructuring, worked on several sovereign debt restructuring and represented the IMF at meetings of the Paris Club.
Previously, he was deputy head of the Emerging Markets division, where he oversaw emerging market lending policies and capital flow management of the IMF.
Honored to have been appointed Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government @HKS_BizGov. My work will focus on improving global frameworks for resolving sovereign debt crises so countries can recover faster from debt distress. https://t.co/2ErztApbrZ pic.twitter.com/O9pzXspJhH
— Reza Baqir (@rezabaqir) September 13, 2022
